Absolutely Bankers

Bailing out the Banks
With bank shares dropping through the floor, it seems another bail-out will be announced tomorrow. The figures being talked about are mind-boggling - ten billion, twenty billion - and it seems the level of our nation's debt (we're now talking trillions) is getting perilously close to outstripping our Gross National Product. What all this will ultimately mean for us, who knows? Whether the toxic debt underwriting scheme will inspire more confidence in our banking system, or get the banks lending again, does anyone really know? I spoke to one finance expert last week, and his thoughtful insight into our current woes was particularly gloomy. "We're up shit creek without a paddle", he declared. Actually he was a taxi driver, but profound words indeed ...
The only thing that is certain is that it's you and me who will pick up the final bill - and looking at the scale of the tab it's a burden that will be borne by generations to come too (or our children's children's children, as the dear old Moody Blues would have it).

Still Talking
Lots of meetings again over the course of the week, and if it wasn't meetings it was phone calls or emails about meetings. I won't bore you with the details of them all, but suffice to say that Fairer Scotland and Neighbourhood Partnership activities took up a lot of time. Thursday also saw a joint NEN staff/board meeting to look at the future of the community paper. Again, I won't divulge any details here but I don't think it's giving away too many secrets to say that we will be unlikely to remain in existence if we continue to rely on council grants. Time to start thinking 'outside the box', then, and my own view is that we should at least investigate the possibility of becoming a social enterprise. I came upon a story of a community newspaper in Arran who recently went down that route with some success, so for longer term sustainability I think it's worth a look.

Sport and Recreation
Not a lot of time for recreational activities this week, but called in at the Jinglin' Geordie after a late afternoon meeting in town on Wednesday. It was very quiet, but you're almost certain to meet up with an old friend when you call in and so it proved - my old friend Jimmy Burnett was there at the 'Last of the Summer Wine' end and I enjoyed a plesant hour of good 'non-meeting' conversation. I also enjoyed more than enough pints of lager, and felt the better for it (at the time at least).
Back to Easter Road on Saturday, although I would admit that if I wasn't a season ticket holder I wouldn't have been there. Like many Hibs supporters I have been fairly scunnered with the performances over the last few weeks, and I can't say I was looking forward to yesterday's gamw with St Mirren, who hve been on a bit of a roll recently. As it transpired Hibs did show signs of improvement (although honestly, after recent performances, they just couldn't have got any worse) and picked up a welcome win. There were some encouraging signs - Rob Jones was majestic at the back, our new keeper did what keepers are supposed to do and there was a new sharpness up front. However Hibs are far from the finished article and the midfield is still a concern. For too long in the second half Hibs gave up the middle of the park and defended too deep - better teams than St Mirren will punish us for that. Thank heavens for small mercies, though, an Riordan's exquisite finish to tie the game up lit up a dark, wet and windy afternoon.
Incidentally my superb tipping skills have seen me rise into the top 4000 of the BBC Scotland Predictor competition and my Jinglin' Geordie fantasy football team is climbing steadily up the table (I accept that I start from a low base). I usually find that, within hours of submitting my fantasy team selection, a fair number of my players either (a) lose both legs in an accident with a can opener, (b) give up football to concentrate on other activities, or (c) suddenly just become crap. It seems I now have eleven players who are at least still alive, which is a welcome development.
Still on entertainment, we're now into the Awards season and Kate Winslett must have already secured her place among the panoply of all-time great acceptance speechea. It was absolutely excruciating, gut wrenching, apalling, dreadful. No, I didn't like it much. She should be made to watch it on an endless loop for 24 hours or so. This should never be allowed to happen ever again.
If young Kate's speech made me cringe, I also had the misfortune to catch some of Caroline Quentin's new sit-com (an oxymoron, perhaps?) 'Life of Reilly'. Dire. Not funny. Is there anything new or amusing that can be done in a 'sit com' format? Not on this showing - as I say I didn't see it all, but a lengthy Neighbourhood Partnership meeting discussing street names would have had more laughs.

The Week Ahead
Meetings, delegations, more meetings and a Burns Supper at Edinburgh Unionist Club. Who said life is dull?
Meanwhile, Obama will be sworn in and one can only hope that he can bring his presence to bear to bring an end to the horrific suffering in Gaza. As a write there is supposedly a fragile cease fire in place, bringing some respite, but a lasting solution has to be found. The United States has got to play a key role in finding a resolution, and let's hope that a fresh start in America can mean fresh hope in the Middle East.